


Massacre on Jay Mountain

by Darkpurplelighter



Category: The Outsiders - S. E. Hinton
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2020-07-07 21:04:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19858015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkpurplelighter/pseuds/Darkpurplelighter
Summary: After the murder of Bob Sheldon, Ponyboy and Johnny seek help from Dally who gives them directions to an old abandoned church in Windrixville. Unbeknownst to him, the home of a psychopath.





	1. Pony's Misfortune

XXXXXX

Ponyboy woke up late in the afternoon and for a second didn't know where he was. He took a deep breath and tried to convince himself that he had dreamed everything that had happened the night before. The fight with Darry, almost being drowned by a group of socs, Johnny having to kill Bob Sheldon in order to save him...it was all just one big nightmare. Maybe it was that nightmare he started having after his parents died

"I'm really in bed," Pony thought, closing his eyes. It's late and Darry was cooking breakfast and soon Sodapop would come in and drag him out of bed and the two of them would start wrestling. After breakfast they would wash the dishes, then play football with the rest of the gang. Johnny and Two-Bit and him would get Darry on their side, since he's the best player. It'll go like the usual weekend morning.

Finally, Ponyboy quit pretending and pushed himself off the rock cold floor, still wrapped up in Dally's jacket and listened to the wind rushing through the trees' dry leaves outside. He was stiff and sore from sleeping on the floor and was still kind of groggy.

Ponyboy blinked and scratched his head...it was awful quiet, with just the sound of rushing wind in the trees. Just the sound...

Suddenly, he realized Johnny wasn't there.

"Johnny?" Pony called loudly, and the old wooden church, echoed his voice. He looked around wildly, almost panic-striken, but then caught sight of some crooked lettering written in the dust of the floor.

"Went to get supplies. Be back soon. J.C."

Taking a deep breath, Ponyboy went to the pump to get a drink. The water from it was like liquid ice and tasted funny, but it was water. He splashed some on his face and that woke him up pretty quick. He wiped his face off on Dally's jacket and sat down on the back steps. The hill the church was on dropped off suddenly about twenty feet from the back door, and you could see for miles and miles. It was like sitting on the top of the world. Pony leaned back and closed his eyes, hoping that Johnny would be back soon. It seemed so much longer than twenty-four hours since Johnny and him met up with Dally and spent that night at the Nightly Double.

Maybe it was.

Maybe Johnny had been gone a whole week and he had just slept. Maybe Johnny had been worked over by the fuzz and was waiting to get the electric chair because he wouldn't tell where he was. Maybe Dally had been killed in a car wreak and no one would ever know where he was. He would just die up here, alone, and turn into a skeleton. Ponyboy shook his head as his over-active imagination was running away with him. Sweat ran down his face and he was trembling a little.

He opened his eyes and took a few deep breaths, trying to relax, he was scared just sitting there by himself. Hopefully Johnny would remember cigarettes.

Ponyboy then started thinking about Sodapop, worrying how he would take it when he found out the trouble he and Johnny were in. And even though he was still mad at him, he worried how Darry would take the news too. The more he thought about his brothers, the more alone he felt. Where the hell was Johnny? He needed a cigarette bad at the moment.

Suddenly, Ponyboy heard someone coming up through the dead leaves toward the back of the church. Thinking Johnny was coming, he quickly got to his feet, than darted out the door so fast that he fell off the steps and found himself starring at a pair of black boots.

Pony slowly looked up to see a large hulking man standing over him, wearing dirty blue overalls and had a thick lumberjack beard. His eyes then went to an axe the man was holding in his left hand. He found that he had no voice at all, Pony's mouth just hung open but he couldn't force any words out. His body froze, he couldn't get up to run away. All Ponyboy could do was stare up at the man in shock.

"You're on my property!" The man yelled.

Before he could even try to respond at all to that, the man bent down and grabbed Ponyboy by the shirt and dragged him back to his feet, back inside of the church, slamming the door behind him. Ponyboy was dragged by his shirt collar, and as much as he tried, he could not escape the grasp of the man.

"Help!" Pony finally managed to yell.

His captor pulled him up and slammed him against the wall, the man's hand wrapped around his throat. Ponyboy started choking as he was slowly lifted off his feet. He started kicking and clawing at his captor's grip, not knowing what else to do. The only thing going through his mind was sheer terror. One of Pony's kicking legs finally nailed his captor in the groin, making him loosen his grip on Pony's throat and drop the axe. With the all the strength he had left, Ponyboy started repeatedly slamming his fist into the side of the man's face. Finally, upon the fifth or six shot, Ponyboy managed to land one to the temple of the man's skull and was released, falling the floor, gasping for air.

His legs felt like wet noodles as he tried to run for it but the man reached out and grabbed Ponyboy's leg, quickly and violently twisting it, making a loud snapping sound as it was broken. Pony screamed in pain as he fell to the ground. His foot was now facing the opposite direction it should have been. The man moved over to the axe he had dropped and picked it up. He slowly walked and stood over Ponyboy who's face was filled with tears of pain and anguish.

"No!" Pony cried out with an awkward scream as the man raised the axe and brought it down upon him.

And then it was over.

No more pain. No more fear. Nothing but blackness.


	2. Johnny's Misfortune

XXXXXXX

Johnny walked down the road to the church, a bag of supplies in his hands. He was still tired from last night because he had to stay awake on the train to make sure he and Ponyboy got off on the right place. His mind kept going back to last night, remembering why Pony and him were here in the first place. He killed a boy last night, someone probably only a few years older then him. He had killed someone to save his best friends life. He remembered that the boy was one of the socs that jumped him a little while ago. And while Johnny had frequently thought about getting back at them in some way, he never thought that it would lead to this. 

He and Ponyboy were now probably wanted fugitives since they ran away from the murder. Johnny felt really bad for Ponyboy, sorry that he had dragged his best friend into this whole thing. Darry and Sodapop were probably beside themselves with worry right now, wondering where their youngest brother was at the moment. Johnny then began to think about his parents; how would they react when they found out that their son was in this situation right now? Would they even care?

Shaking his head, Johnny walked past an old barn while taking a deep breath. What was going through his mind now was how he was gonna break it to Pony that they were gonna have to cut their hair so they wouldn't fit their descriptions in the paper. He knew Ponyboy took pride in his hair and it took him a long time to get it just they way he wanted it, he and Sodapop had the tuffest hair in town. Hopefully the 'Gone with the Wind' book he bought that Pony always said he wanted would make up for it in some way.

Johnny walked up the stairs to the church and was about the push the door open when a blood curdling scream from inside stopped him in his tracks.

"Ponyboy?"

Johnny kept staring at the door, part of him wanting to turn and run away as fast as he could. He swallowed nervously and slowly pushed the door open. What he saw next made his blood run cold. 

Ponyboy was laying face down on the floor, a pool of blood surrounding him.

A large man holding an axe stood over him, staring at his lifeless body. Johnny felt the bag fall from his hands and hit the ground, some of the supplies spilling out. The man looked up when he heard the noise and he and Johnny locked eyes. Johnny let out a yell before spinning around and running away from the church as fast as humanly possible.

"Hey! Come back here!"

The holler from the man caused Johnny to stumble a little but he kept going, not even sure were he was running to when he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps chasing after him. When Johnny turned his head to look behind him, he tripped over something and landed on the road, his knee landing on a jagged rock.

Johnny yelled in pain as he clutched at his knee, blood started forming underneath his pant's leg.

By this time the man had walked over and was now looking down at him. He slowly shook his index finger in a disturbing manner as if saying "No" to him. He then grabbed Johnny's hurt knee in an aggressive manner and began dragging him clear across the field. Johnny tried to do whatever he could to fight him off, but it was useless as he was dragged into the barn.

The sound of old leather sliding from the man's body was all Johnny heard as he was lifted off his small feet and was tied around the neck with something that felt like leather. It was in fact a large leather belt with about thirty notches.

Johnny hung there, in the air, but he could still touch the ground with his tip toes. That was the only thing that may have saved his life.

By this time, the man had walked out of the barn, leaving the doors cracked a little.

Johnny hung there off the ground and thought about a thing that was even more horrible then all of tragedy that had just happened, as if it was not bad enough. He raised his arms and grabbed the belt above him. Johnny held the belt in his hands and tried disparately to find where the belt had been tied to, but it was hope less the belt was to long. He knew he could try to climb the belt and see if he could get on to whatever that belt was tied to, which might allow him to take the belt off.

Johnny had dropped his hands down to his neck and looked up, able to see out of the opening of the barn doors a station wagon passing by. Johnny tried to cry out to the person that was passing by, able to see that the windows were rolled down.

"Help!"

But his cries for help went unanswered due to the fact that his vocal chords seemed to be robbed of the needed amount of air used to scream. Johnny continued to scream out, but with no luck as the wagon was soon out of sight.

Tears slowly went down Johnny's cheeks. The fact that he could not get help was slowly killing him, literally.

Johnny muscles began to stiffen and sharp pains sprouted along the base of his back and thighs. He didn't know much longer he could hold himself up. He allowed his muscles to relax just then, and the belt quickly tightened around Johnny's neck with a power he had never felt before.


	3. Showdown at the Church

XXXXXX

Dallas Winston made his way down the road to the church in Buck Merrill's T-Bird that he had borrowed, driving it as fast as he could.

It had now been five days since Johnny murdered that soc in the park and he and Pony came to him for help. After lying to the fuzz in telling them that Johnny and Ponyboy were headed to Texas, Dally figured it would be safe to finally come down to check on them. The rest of the gang were beyond worried about the kids, that moron Two-Bit even wanting to go up to Texas to hunt for them before Dally told him he was lying. However, no one was taking this worse than Darry. Apparently, he had hit Ponyboy that night which caused him to run away from house which is why he was in the park with Johnny in the first place. 

Dally then looked over at the letter Sodapop had given him that he placed on the seat next to him. Soda came to Buck's place during the week and found Ponyboy's sweatshirt. He practically begged Dally to tell him were Ponyboy was, but he told him he didn't know nothing. Of course, Soda didn't believe him so he wrote a letter for Pony, giving him half the money from his paycheck as well. 

Upon reaching the church, Dally parked the car right up in front and grabbed the letter, shoving it in his back pocket as he stood up. He began to approach the church door when out of the corner of his eye, he saw somebody by the barn. 

Dally looked over and his jaw dropped when he saw who it was.

'Holy shit, that's Johnny!'

Johnny took another step, but his legs gave out and he collapsed onto the ground.

Dally ran over and croutched next to Johnny and turned him over. His eyes widened in horror when he saw his state. Johnny was as pale as a ghost, and dangerously thin. He also had marks around his neck, seemingly done by some kind of belt or rope. The kid looked like he was half-dead.

"Johnny! What the hell happened to you!?" The older greaser demanded. "Who did this!?"

Johnny responded but he said it so softly that Dally couldn't make out what he had just said. He carefully picked up Johnny and carried him back to the car, laying him down in the backseat. He had no choice at this point, he had to get Johnny to a hospital, and fast. But Ponyboy...where the hell was Ponyboy?

"Johnny, look at me kid."

He slowly opened his eyes and stared up at Dally.

"Where's Pony?"

Weakly, Johnny managed to lift his arm and pointed towards the church.

Spinning on his heels, Dally ran to the church as fast as he could and threw the door open, only to find himself staring at Ponyboy Curtis's dead body.

Ponyboy was laying face down, a large wound in his back. Blood surrounding him. The stench of his body started to make Dally feel sick. Dally covered his mouth with the back of his hand, his stomach threatening to force up whatever it still held.

"What the hell…I gave them a gun!" Dally looked around for it, finding it in the corner.

Dally picked it up and stared at it. Rage began to boil up inside of him.

"Damn kid! Darry was right, he never uses his head." 

He got even more angry when he realized he acutally had tears welling up in his eyes. He hadn't cried in years, but the sight of seeing Ponyboy dead at his feet in such a way hit him harder than the toughest hood could ever do. Before he could even think of how to handle this, the church door was suddenly thrown open again with such force, and a large man with an axe stood there, dried blood covered his blue overalls. The man's eyes widened in anger once he saw Dally. 

"You're on my property!" The man yelled.

"You killed my buddy," Dally growled, as he looked the guy over. 

The man held the axe up but Dally pointed the gun at him.

He stood perfectly still, like a statue.

"Fuck you," Dally said then pulled the trigger.

Click.

The saftey was still on.

"Shit," Dally said and went to take it off when suddenly, without warning, the man hurled the axe at him.

Dally moved just in time to avoided the axe, but in his haste, dropped the gun. Dally jumped to grab it, but the man kicked it away. He then grabbed Dally by the throat and lifted him up. On sheer instinct alone, Dally slammed his fist, hard into his chest. He released Dally and stumbled backwards. Dally made a dash for the axe and grabbed it. He swung for the man's head but he grabbed it and forced it from Dally's hands. But before he could use it Dally punched him in the face and then in the gut. He swung the axe but Dally ducked and swept his legs, making him fall.

He jumped for the axe but the man grabbed his foot, making him fall face first. Dally tried to shake it off and get up but he was still holding tightly on to Dally's foot. He kicked wildly with his other leg trying to make the man release him, but it was no use. Finally, in desperation he pulled a knife from his pocket. Flicking it open, he threw it right into the man's face. It went right into his left cheek, making him scream out in pain, and release Dally.

Dally quickly got to his feet and made another move for the axe, and this time he didn't fail. He turned, holding the axe, and saw the man had removed the knife and was looking in his direction as blood gushed from his cheek.

"What are you waiting for?" Dally yelled, "Don't you want to play anymore? Was I supposed to scream and run away from you?"

The man growled and finally moved toward him. Dally swung with the axe, but he dodged him and stabbed at Dally's arm with the knife. Dally grabbed his hand and pushed him away causing him to drop the knife. He tried to take his head off, but the man rolled just in time to avoid the blow. As soon as the axe hit the ground the man hit Dally in the ribs, sending him flying into the wall. Dally slowly got up, holding his ribs. The pain told him they were more than likely broken. Dally looked over and noticed the gun, he jumped and grabbed, he cocked it and pointed at the man, but the man hit his hand with the head of the axe, sending the gun flying. Dally screamed in pain and held his hand.

He hadn't cut it off, as it had been the flat side of the axe, but it hurt like hell.

Jumping up to his feet, Dally charged toward him, screaming in anger. He swung the axe at Dally, but he moved and hit the man with a series of punches while he was off balance. He swung the axe again, but Dally moved and kicked it out of his hand. He tried to hit Dally but he was moving to fast. Dally gave him a kick in the groin, when the man fell to the ground, he kicked him in the head with his steel-toed boot. He reached down and dragged the man back to his feet and slammed him face first into the wall.

Dally finally had a hold of the gun and pointed at the man, waiting for him to turn around. When he did, Dally fired, hitting every shot directly into his chest. The man slumped against the wall and slowly slid down it, leaving a long blood stain behind him. Dally stood over him, breathing heavy. He lifted the gun one more time and fired the last bullet right into the man's head.

Exhausted, and with nothing left, Dally turned and headed out of the church, back to Buck's T-Bird, knowing that he had to take Johnny to a hospital as quick as he could. There was nothing he could do for Ponyboy.


	4. A Time to Mourn

XXXXXX

It is not easy to cope after a loved one dies. You mourn and grieve. They say mourning is a natural process you go through to accept a major loss. There are millions of profound poetic quotes floating around out there about the beauty of life and the sting of death. The departure of a loved one, especially one taken long before they were due, should never relate the experience to a rose, even if it is likened to the thorns.

People die. It's the one universal truth that people can always rely on.

Darry sat at his seat at a church for Ponyboy's funeral. He hadn't been to church in years but this place held a lot of good memories, coming here with his parents and brothers every Sunday. But now, every happy memory had been stripped away due to the horror that had happened a little over a week ago. Darry shifted his position in his seat. His eyes were bloodshot, throat try, He still remembered that day...getting the visit from the police telling him that their parents had died in a car accident.

"They died almost instantly. I'm sorry son."

But the car accident hadn't been his fault. He didn't yelled at his Mother or Father and hit them. Darry had done those things to Ponyboy. If he hadn't lost his temper, if didn't hit him, he wouldn't have ran away and get into a confrontation with socs at the park. Pony would have been safe at home. He would have woken up the next day in his own bed, started cooking breakfast, and during the middle of cooking it he would have walked away, daydreaming and burned it. Throughout the whole week, he had worried out of his mind about Ponyboy, waiting for news about him, trying not to think about the worst. But the worst had come true.

It wasn't fair. Their family has been so close, so many times before. Now, three out of the five were gone now.

After getting the news about Ponyboy from the cops a few days ago, Darry stood frozen, unable to move. Then, unable to stop himself Darry fell to his knees, balling like he had never done before.

The worst part of the whole thing was having to tell Sodapop.

It was something he had never felt before, like being helplessly trapped underwater, drowning. Darry felt shock and the total invasion of misery, his shoulders trembling so hard, overwhelmed by guilt. Throughout the next few days and even now, he wondered if Ponyboy knew just how much he loved him.

'How could he know?' The voice in Darry's mind asked. 'You never said it.'

Going back to when their parents died, he wasn't just big brother anymore. His mind went to all the times he yelled at him, sometimes for just the smallest things and wondered if that did damage to their relationship. Darry remembered being Ponyboy's protector, always looking out for him. He felt his heart ache and eyes begin to sting when he thought...

'Why wasn't I there to protect you at Windrixville last Saturday?'

But the question wasn't really necessary. He knew the answer. And perhaps the cruelest irony was that Ponyboy had been killed inside of a church...a church, just like the one Darry was currently sitting in now. 

He began to look around at the large gathering that had showed up. Ponyboy's school friends, teachers. He saw that even Tim and Curly Shepard had showed up with a couple of other guys from their gang. Also, that soc girl, Cherry Valance, whom he had been told that Ponyboy walked home with the night of their fight, of the murder, was here to pay her respects as well. 

Darry's eyes continued to wander until he saw Dally, Steve, and Two-Bit all standing together, their hands shoved inside of their pockets, all three of them had cried so much that their eyes were red. Ponyboy was their brother just as much as he was Darry and Sodapop's. Darry then observed Dally closer and noticed he still had a slight black eye. As much as he wanted to stay mad at him, he couldn't. He realized now he was just trying to help them. There was no way he could have known what was waiting for Ponyboy and Johnny once they arrived at Windrixville

And Johnny...poor Johnny was still in the hospital recovering from his injuries, unable to attend the funeral of his best friend. 

Sodapop had stayed by Ponyboy's casket, eyes swimming with tears and bottom lip trembling until Steve came over and gently took his wrist and led him away.

Darry started thinking about how close Sodapop and Ponyboy were and how he envied them. The two of them only got closer after their parents died, and he and Pony only drifted apart. Sodapop loved having a little brother. It was all he talked about once they found out their Mom was pregnant again. 

Even though he would never say it out loud, he wondered if Soda thought it was his fault. Darry wouldn't have blamed him if he did. Darry took a deep breath, feeling like he was going to pass out or throw up at any minute. He had never been able to cry before, but now his eyes were sore from doing so much of it. Tears started coming down his cheeks again,

Darry wanted to scream, let out every ounce of emotions he had in his body.

People started looking at him.

"Maybe I am screaming."

Sodapop looked like he wanted to crawl up into a little ball. Dally and Two-Bit rushed over to Darry, grabbing him on either side. They pulled the larger greaser up and helped take him outside, away from the crowd. 

'I can't take this,' Darry thought. 'What am I supposed to now?'


End file.
